Congratulations to all movie fans, I have finally waited for a lot of new movies to be finalized recently, and the next movie theaters can be considered lively. After several twists and turns, “Death on the Nile” was airborne this month and landed in theaters normally.
As the suspenseful classic adaptation of Agatha, the queen of reasoning, what story does it tell? Just listen to my analysis for you – “Death on the Nile”.
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There are already very outstanding works as a comparison reference
As a world-renowned mystery novel, “Death on the Nile” has had two classic adaptations in the past.
One is the movie of the same name released in the United States in 1978, and the other is the third episode of the ninth season of the series “Agatha Christie’s Poirot” produced by ITV, which was broadcast in 2004.
Both works have been widely recognized by the audience, especially the film version of “Death on the Nile”.
The excellent old version is in front, and the pressure on the new version is naturally greater.
From the perspective of the cast, the 1978 version is a real star-studded version. There are as many as five Oscar winners, including the most well-known “Minerva McGonagall” Maggie Smith.
In addition, Olivia Hussey, who plays Rosalie, has always been known as “the most beautiful Juliet”.
Jane Birkin, who plays the maid, is a European goddess-level singer, and Hermes’ famous platinum bag was born because of her.
In contrast, the drama version is limited by cost, and the lineup is naturally much inferior.
But it has David Suchet, who is recognized as the best Poirot actor, and Emily Blunt, and it is still loved by many audiences.
Another advantage of this version is the casting of the hero Simon.
J J Feild’s appearance and acting skills are both online. He has a childish beauty, which makes people understand at a glance why there are two women crazy for him.
The new version of the movie is a collection of familiar faces in the European and American circles such as Gal Gadot, Letitia Wright (“Game of Thrones”, “The Good Fight”), Emma Mackey (“Sex Education”), etc.
The only pity is that during the film’s delayed release, actor Armie Hammer exposed a sexual assault scandal. The filmmakers tried to weaken him in publicity, but they couldn’t delete his important scenes.
Looking at the story adaptation, “Death on the Nile” is a mystery novel with Agatha’s characteristics.
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“Death on the Nile” tells the story of Linnet, a young and beautiful, top rich second-generation rich with both dead parents, who was murdered on his honeymoon after stealing his poor best friend Jacqueline’s fiancé Simon.
The case seems simple, but the characters on the scene are complicated and difficult to remember. There are more than 20 tourists on a boat, all of which are described in detail in the book, and most of them are suspected of committing crimes.
In addition to the main line of “Murder of Linnet”, there are also two branches of “Pearl Necklace Stolen” and “Wanted criminals lurking on the boat”, making the case full of fog.
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Novels can make readers remember each character freshly by virtue of the author’s writing skills, but film and television works have to consider many issues such as duration and audience acceptance, and have to be adapted reasonably.
The 78 version of the movie deleted the wanted criminals, and weakened the necklace theft case. By cutting and merging, the number of main characters was controlled within 15 people closely related to the murder case, which made it easier for the audience to recognize people.
At the same time, the victim Linnet was rewritten to be more domineering and annoying. Add a motive for each passenger to kill her to amplify the sense of suspense.
In the end, the film is adorned with real scenes of Egypt and some laughs, making the rhythm relaxed.
Although the 78 version of the movie is not faithful to the original, it retains the essence of the original as a whole and is a masterpiece that is easy to watch.
The 04 TV series is more friendly to the original party.
Although it also cut the role of the wanted criminal, it restored the theft of the pearl necklace.
Compared with the 78th version of Poirot’s listening to the corner case method, this version also adds the evidence search process in line with the original work, making the reasoning part more rigorous and full, and inevitably some problems will arise due to the length of time.
From the trailer and other materials, the new version of “Death on the Nile” shows a drastic adaptation.
The unfamiliar tourists, like “Murder on the Orient Express,” the previous installment in the series, each are inextricably linked to the dead.
Although this has caused dissatisfaction with some of the original party, but from another perspective, as a well-known work in the mystery novel world, it has been remade twice, and the plot has long been familiar to the audience.
If the new edition does not add some new ideas, I am afraid it will be difficult to make people interested.
The point is only whether the adapted script can still be logically smooth.
Business ambitions
The new version of “Death on the Nile” also has a major adaptation point, which is director Kenneth Branagh’s shaping of the protagonist Poirot.
Probably due to commercial considerations, Kenneth’s self-directed Poirot has a lot more hands-on hobbies than the easy chair detective in the original who only likes to use gray brain cells.
In “Murder on the Orient Express”, Poirot is not only dexterous and agile, but also plays chase scenes outdoors.
It also shows us that his ability to melee hand-to-hand combat is also no problem.
No wonder many book fans say that this version of Poirot is more like Sherlock Holmes.
Director Kenneth Branagh was a blockbuster when he starred in Shakespeare’s classic “Henry V” at the age of 25.
At the age of 29, he was nominated for Best Director and Best Actor at the Oscars for the film version he directed and acted, and was knighted by the Queen of England in 2012.
The world-recognized master of Shakespeare’s play, known for shooting gorgeous court dramas in the past, was also invited by Marvel to direct the movie “Thor”.
Therefore, when shooting this film, in the balance between plot and artistry, Kenneth Branagh chose the latter which he is better at.
“Murder on the Orient Express” takes great care in camera movement and composition, covering up the shortcomings of insufficient plot reasoning with visual impact.
Before and after the discovery of the deceased, the two-minute overhead shots gave people an opportunity to look at the murder from God’s perspective.
The first-perspective shot of each passenger’s face on the dining car echoes the follow-up shot at the end of the film, which is enough to make the audience sigh after knowing the truth.
The picture of 12 passengers sitting side by side at the table and being questioned by Poirot is very similar to the famous painting “The Last Supper”, which pushes the artistic tension of the whole film to the highest peak.
The final word of mouth of the film is controversial, but for the audience, it brings a lot of new highlights and interests.
At the end, Poirot received a job assignment from the Nile, paving the way for the next “Death on the Nile”, and officially revealed his ambition to turn the Poirot story written by Agatha into a commercial series.
Keep the expectations to the new “Death on the Nile”
While there are still concerns about multiple adaptations, “Death on the Nile” is still, in my opinion, a movie worth seeing in theaters this month.
The investment of more than 90 million US dollars, and the aesthetic accumulated by Kenneth Branagh over the years, at least guarantee that we can enjoy a gorgeous visual feast.
Famous Egyptian attractions such as The Great Pyramids and Abu Simbel Temples can also comfort the audience that they are unable to travel abroad due to the epidemic.
In addition, after watching the trailer, you will find that the key prop in the film, Linnet’s pearl necklace, has been changed to diamond material in this work.
The sparkling jewelry embellished on Gadot’s chest is the legendary 128.54-carat yellow diamond from Tiffany.
Before that, the yellow diamond had only been worn by Mrs. Mary Whitehouse, Audrey Hepburn and Lady Gaga, and had never appeared on the big screen.
Even Audrey Hepburn was wearing it for the “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” promotional poster without actually bringing it into the movie.
I have to say that it is quite tempting to watch Gal Gadot with legendary jewelry in the theater.
Kenneth Branagh just won 7 Oscar nominations for “Belfast”, are you satisfied with his new remake this time?
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